Kentucky Coach Joker Phillips speaks during the SEC Football Media Days at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala., Thur., July 21, 2011. (The Birmingham News/Mark Almond)

Kentucky

2011 OVERALL: 5-7

2011 SEC RECORD: 2-6

2011 EAST FINISH: Fourth (tied)

2012 PREDICTED FINISH: Seventh in SEC East, tied for last overall

GOOD NEWS: The Wildcats lost two players to the NFL -- tackle machine
Danny Trevathan and safety Winston Guy -- but they should still be able to stop
the run. The entire starting defensive line -- senior end Collins Ukwu and junior
tackles Mister Cobble and Donte Rumph -- is back and so is senior end Taylor
Wyndham, who takes the field whenever Kentucky uses four linemen. Junior Avery
Williamson, a reserve for the past two seasons who will replace Trevathan,
looked impressive throughout the spring. On offense, the Wildcats seem to have a
few playmakers emerging alongside senior wide receiver La'Rod King, something
that never happened in 2011. Sophomore Demarco Robinson caught two deep
touchdown passes in Kentucky's spring game and tight ends Tyler Robinson and
Ronnie Shields combined to catch eight passes. Daryl Collins also is a name to
watch at wide receiver.

BAD NEWS: Though Morgan Newton is still hanging around, the Wildcats
enter the summer with sophomore Maxwell Smith as their starting quarterback. He
looked better during spring practice but he's still the same Maxwell Smith who
looked flustered throughout his freshman season. Coach Joker Phillips has
indicated that Newton and freshman Patrick Towles will receive a chance to win
the job. All but two starters from last year's offensive line are gone. The
defense, with six new starters, thrived near the end of the season, but wasn't
exactly dominant throughout most of a woeful 2011.

LOOK AT ME NOW: Marcus Caffey was highly recruited as a running back,
but he's now a cornerback. Caffey struggled to crack the running back rotation
as a freshman last year and his outlook in 2012 was equally lacking in promise.
That's why Phillips encouraged Caffey to make the switch, pointing out the
number of cornerbacks who are selected in the NFL Draft every year. According to
a Lexington Herald-Leader article, the coaches believe he can leave Kentucky as
one of the top cornerbacks in the country.

THE CRYSTAL BALL SAYS: A bowl game looks unlikely. With Louisville
back on track under coach Charlie Strong, four wins courtesy of a notoriously
weak non-conference schedule are no longer a guarantee. That means Kentucky will
probably have to find a way to score three wins on an SEC schedule that features
seven teams that went to bowls last season.

This team capsule is part of The Birmingham News' 66th annual SEC spring preview. The predicted finish is from a poll of SEC football sports information directors.